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Ah, the Coen Brothers. Those genius filmmakers that can’t help but do something special each and every time they get behind the camera. They have a range with no limits. They can make the dynamic award winning films that prove they are masters of their art and then on the flipside they can make silly films that make us laugh with witty dialogue and intelligent jokes. With this movie about an elaborate heist they brought together an incredible cast of interesting characters and wrote an outstanding script for them to perform.

The cast as much as anything makes this film awesome. Tom Hanks was still at the height of his career in 2004 although his star was beginning to fall. In this movie he plays one of the most bizarre characters he ever has and delivered an incredible performance. He looks like Colonel Sanders and speaks with a great southern draw that comes across quite eloquently He has very unique dialogue that is loaded with whit. He has a very deep vocabulary and Hanks delivers these lines flawlessly. It is probably one of my all-time favorite roles from Hanks. I think the next greatest role has to go to J.K. Simmons, hands down. Simmons has an incredibly funny quality about him and brings humor to everything he is in. The Coen brothers recognize this talent and have used him multiple times. He was great as the CIA director in Burn After Reading. I have always loved him in the role of Pancake, the man who “brought his bitch to the Waffle Hut.” I have always liked Marlon Wayans too but usually dislike most of his movies. I thought he was awesome in this movie as the “proverbial inside man.” The rest of this ensemble is just as great. The little known Tzi Ma barely needs to say anything at all in the film and still manages to be a badass. I love when he is “even now exercising every effort” to catch that sneaky cat Pickles when it escapes again. I have always been a big fan of Ryan Hurst but he plays the weakest role in this movie. It’s not his fault though, that is just the way the character was written.

The ensemble might be made up of terrific characters but it doesn’t stop there in the film. Irma P. Hall is terrific and on point for the whole film. Is there anything more intimidating in the world than an elderly strong minded black woman set in her ways? I love the scene that opens the film with her complaining about rap music and I also love when she continually slaps Marlon Wayans for his profanity, “sometimes it’s the only way.” Stephen Root is also on hand in this film and as I have said before, the man is simply incredible. Root can literally do anything and I think he brings something great to each and every role he plays. Also, I don’t know who plays the part and don’t think it is important enough to look up but the man who plays the choir leader in the church is awesome. The suit, the hair, and the expression on his face as he directs the music is just too funny. The Coen’s have quite a knack for finding actors like him to fill into small roles and it always serves them well.

This is not the greatest of the Coen Brothers’ movies and I don’t even know if it is one of their better ones but like all Coen Brother movies it offers unforgettable and incredible scenes that make it worth wild. I absolutely love when the two gangsters try to rob the donut shop and get nowhere. The General just stands there expressionless and smoking as these guys threaten him and demand “that donut money.” With a movement so quick the camera barely catches it he has incapacitated the one standing in front of him and their reaction to the action is hilarious. One of the greatest intros to a character I have ever seen hands down. I love the scene in the Waffle Hut all around from Tom Hanks demanding waffles from the waitress to J.K. Simmons bringing “his bitch to the Waffle Hut.” They always write terrific scripts and I will say again that I think nearly everything Hanks says in the film is solid gold. I loved his response to the notion that Pancake would have a pretty good lawsuit if he decided to sue them over his finger. He takes a serious tone and different demeanor as a character to explain that they are part of a criminal enterprise and not subject to typical rules and regulations.

While I do love this movie and think that it is awesome I can’t even say it qualifies as one of the Coen Brothers better movies. I have always felt it started to come apart in the end somehow. After Pancake is dispatched the movie starts to lose my interest a bit. It still has its moments afterwards but it just seems to lose that captivating quality and closes kind of poorly in my opinion. However everything that comes before makes the movie worth wild.

This movie offers some of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a movie and I enjoy it each and every time I watch it. I think anything the Coen Brothers do is worth the time of every movie fan out there and that includes this one. Yes this is not their best film but this is still a good film and there is plenty to appreciate and enjoy about it. If you get the opportunity to see it I strongly encourage anyone to give it a shot. This movie is without doubt worth your time to see.

AMBER’S REVIEW

This is not my favorite Coen Brothers film. It’s funny and interesting, but some of the actors parts fall flat and I think they could have been a little better. The point of the story is awesome, and I support anything that these guys do. It is worth seeing.

This is a great example of how to include multiple characters into one poster. I love the scene and that you can’t see the lady’s face. The typography is really nice as well. I think the designer did a good job a offsetting it and making it look off in a really nice way. Sometimes, it can get out of control. Overall, really successful poster.